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NATO was formed shortly after WWII to prevent another war. NATO is a collection of the U.S, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Iceland, Norway, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the U.S. NATO is designed so that all of the participating countries can work together to preserve world peace. -
On June 24, 1948, Soviet forces blocked all roads and railways in West Berlin. Instead of using military force, President Harry Truman decided to airlift food, water, medicine, and other supplies to the people of West Berlin. Between June 1948 and May 1949, 200,000 planes carried over 1.5 million tons of supplies to West Berlin. -
The Korean War began when the Communist North Korean army crossed over into non-communist South Korea. The North Korean Army was heavily armed with soviet weapons, the U.S came to the aid of South Korea. In order to contain communism, the U.S engaged in this dealy war that would leave millions dead.
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The Warsaw Pact was a mutual defense organization that placed the Soviet Union in command of all countries involved. This treaty was signed in Warsaw, Poland by the USSR, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. The pact called for all members to come to the aid of any member attacked by an outside force. -
A conflict between North and South Vietnam was intensified by the Cold War when the USSR and U.S entered. The spread of communism and containment created an opposition that intensified the war. More than 3 million people died during the Vietnam War, 58,000 of those were Americans.
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The Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite. In a competition between the U.S and the USSR known as the “Space Race,” the Soviet Space program was the first to launch a satellite into orbit. The Sputnik was launched from a place known as Gagarin’s Start in Kazhakstan. -
The Berlin Wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic to separate them from the Soviet-controlled East Berlin. West Berlin was controlled by the U.S, Britain, and France while East Berlin was controlled by the Soviet Union. The Wall symbolized the “Iron Curtain” that divided Europe. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation in the Atlantic between the U.S and the Soviet Union. The Missile Crisis began when the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba in preparation to launch them into U.S cities. The construction was discovered by U.S spy planes flying over Cuba, the U.S decided to place Naval ships outside of Cuba to prevent future shipments. -
The moon landing was a significant victory in the Space Race. The U.S Apollo 11 was the first spacecraft to land on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin would become the first three men to stand on the moon. -
Following anti-government protests in East Germany, the Berlin Wall was opened in November of 1989. Also, the democratization of Eastern European states pressured the border. The border was finally opened on November 9, 1989, and sections of the wall were destroyed to allow for travel between East and West Germany.